On this date...

First Continental Congress

In 1774, First Continental Congress convenes in Philadelphia. Twelve of the thirteen colonies met at Carpenters Hall.

In 1781, A French fleet of 24 ships under Comte de Grasse defeats British forces under Admiral Thomas Graves and Samuel Hood at the Battle of the Chesapeake (Battle of the Virginia Capes) and traps General Lord Charles Cornwallis during the American Revolutionary War.

In 1836, Sam Houston was elected president of the Republic of Texas.

In 1844, Iron ore is discovered in Minnesota's Mesabi Mountains.

In 1877, Oglala Sioux leader Crazy Horse is fatally bayoneted by a U.S. soldier after resisting confinement in a guardhouse at Fort Robinson, Nebraska.

In 1877, Southern Blacks, led by Pap Singleton, settle in Kansas.

In 1879, American Arctic explorer George Washington De Long on board the Jeannette becomes trapped with his crew in pack ice during an attempt to reach the North Pole.

In 1882, The nation's first Labor Day parade was held in New York City.

In 1905, the Treaty of Portsmouth was signed, ending the Russo-Japanese war; for his efforts in mediating the peace negotiations, U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt was awarded the Noble Peace Prize the following year.

In 1914, US President Woodrow Wilson orders the US Navy to make its wireless stations accessible for any transatlantic communications, even to German diplomats sending coded messages, leading to the interception of the Zimmermann telegram and helping bring the US into the war.

In 1934, American pilot Wiley Post discovers the jet stream while flying at high altitude near Chicago, Illinois.

In 1939, Franklin D. Roosevelt declares US neutrality at the start of WWII in Europe.

In 1958, "The Huckleberry Hound Show" by Hanna-Barbera featuring Yogi Bear premieres on US TV

In 1960, American boxer Muhammad Ali (then known as Cassius Clay) won the gold medal in the 175-pound division at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome and then embarked on a professional career that saw him become one of the sport's most legendary competitors.

In 1961, America begins underground nuclear testing.

In 1969, Lt. William Calley is charged with six specifications of premeditated murder in the death of 109 Vietnamese civilians at My Lai in March 1968.

In 1970, On September 5, the 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile), in coordination with the South Vietnamese (ARVN) 1st Infantry Division, initiates Operation Jefferson Glen in Thua Thien Province west of Hue. This operation lasted until October 1971, and was one of the last major large-scale military operations in which U.S. ground forces would take part.

In 1975, Lynette (“Squeaky”) Fromme attempted to assassinate U.S. President Gerald R. Ford; Fromme, a follower of Charles Manson, was sentenced to life in prison but was released in 2009.

In 1976, The first episode of The Muppet Show, which was cocreated by Jim Henson, aired, and the TV series became hugely popular, known for a cast of puppet characters that included Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy.

In 1977, Voyager 1 is launched, is currently most distant human-made object from Earth.

In 2001, At a scientific conference in Washington, D.C., scientists described an observation of energy flares that provided strong evidence of the theorized black hole at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy.